Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and any associated characters from the X-Files are property of David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, the other actors who portray them, Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting Corp. They are used witho ut permission, because I can't afford to get permission. This story idea, as insane as I know it is, is mine and mine alone. Of course, there is a character in here who belongs to himself... even if he *does* think he's a figment of my imagination... *grin* Author's notes are in their own little section of this story, and they're not necessary to be read in order to understand the story, but they do give helpful background information. Rating: PG - language, X - there's an X-File in here somewhere, Angst. Summary: Mulder and Scully meet a young woman who might hold the key to finding Samantha Mulder. Conspiracy and alien abduction attached. Spoilers: None to be found even with a hunting dog and a ouija board. (I've been watching too much Babylon 5 - thank you JMS!). (It's told mainly in 3rd person and from the young woman's POV.) Games of the Mind. (Part I) by Christina Shuy cshuy@netcom.com Wednesday 22 May 1996 7:30pm PDT California State University at Los Angeles Los Angeles, California It was just after sunset in Los Angeles. A dark-haired Asian woman walked out of the tall Physical Sciences building, a black backpack over her left shoulder and a canvas bag over her shoulder, car keys in her right hand. Her dark eyes blinked at t he light conditions in a half-squint. Her glasses, large burgundy wire frames with thin but needed lenses, were perched on her nose left after physics lecture, and she'd decided that she'd need them probably for the drive home, so she'd left them on, even though they kept sliding down her nose. She wore a black shirt and desert print skirt with black heels on her feet, her hair pulled back by a braid. A Walkman, earphone cord leading into the bag, played softly in her ears. Her lips moved silently with the words to the songs only she could hear. She sighed to herself, shoving the glasses back onto her nose again.. It had been a long day. "Well, time to go home..." She headed for the parking structure, directly under the building she'd walked from. Suddenly, a bright light flashed in her face. She shut her eyes quickly from the sharp intensity. "What the...!?" She'd stopped and tried to turn away. The light flashed, then vanished just as abruptly. When it had faded completely, the walkway to the the parking structure was empty. Monday 31 March 1997 4:30pm EST J. Edgar Hoover Building Washington, D.C. She opened her eyes and discovered she wasn't where she thought she would be. Not only that, she was wearing something different, though it was clothing she recognized. Her backpack was also nowhere to be seen, the familiar weight of textbooks not on her shoulder, and her canvas bag had gone as well, though she still had her purse, as well as her walkman, though it was now clipped to her waist. The earphones looped around her neck and not in her ears. She took time to look around and was amazed at what she saw. Unwittingly, she walked into someone while she was totally engrossed in her own thoughts. "I'm sorry..." she mumbled, just loud enough to be audible as she looked down at her shoes... which she then noticed were also different. "It's ok. I wasn't watching where I was going." a strong but soft male voice replied. She looked up and into hazel eyes, somewhat surprised by the sound of the voice. He immediately noticed hers were a very dark brown. Something about them seemed strange. It seemed they were continuously changing. They switched from being completely embarassed to strong and angry. Then, they changed again to being bright, inqu isitive and shining. At the very least, his curiousity was piqued. "Um... hello... My name's Valerie." she said, her voice light but steady, and with a hint of a Canadian accent, reaching out one hand. The speaking voice was disorienting, and she fought to stablise herself. "Mulder." he said, taking her hand and shaking it, studying her momentarily. He looked at her eyes again. "You're an FBI agent, eh?" she asked, noticing his badge clipped to the suit jacket of his well-rumpled suit. Along with it, there was a nice, yet loud, silk tie and button-down shirt that was faintly blue. Mulder glanced at the badge, then smiled as he looked at her. "Yeah." he answered. "I guess you could say I am." An image abruptly formed in her mind. A young girl. Familiar yet different. With long, dark curling hair. Then another, the same person now old enough to be a woman. The familial resemblance between the woman and the man she was looking at face to face was definitely there. The image of the face overlay what her eyes saw. "You..." she started but her words caught in her throat. Before she could speak again, she was interrupted. "Mulder! You forgot to sign out. And who's this?" a red-haired woman said, walking up to them. She wasn't wearing an obvious FBI badge and he smiled, watching her approach. However, he noted the woman beside him stiffen slightly. Something within her changed again, her emotions switching from surprise to fear. And there was also something else... something he couldn't quite put a finger on. "Well, Scully, you know I have a lot on my mind. I hate tax time." Mulder grinned at the approaching woman. "I'd like you to meet Valerie. I just about ran her over trying to get home in time and get my taxes done. Quite a task considering I haven't even started them yet. Besides, you know how disorganised I am." He turned to introduce Scully to the woman he'd caught up with. "Valerie, this is Dana Scully, my partner." "It's nice to meet you, Valerie." Scully smiled before turning her attention back to her friend and partner. "Taxes or no, Mulder, I think you should probably watch where you're going. You're always running into things." Scully teased. "Either that or having things run into you. Fortunately this time didn't put you in the hospital." Mulder flushed and grinned, embarassed. "He... I... I didn't... uh..." the woman started, then stopped, hoping they'd understand what she tried to say with what she hadn't. Something in her clicked. She straightened and the manner which she held herself changed abruptly, as did her voice. "Excuse me." She turned and fled without another word. Scully and Mulder watched the woman, wearing an oversized Toronto Blue Jays tshirt and shorts, retreating, as though afraid for her own life. "What was that all about?" Scully asked. "I don't know... " Mulder answered, eyes narrowed slightly in thought. "Something strange is going on. There's something about her that's familiar, but I can't be sure." "Mulder, where are you going?" Scully asked, as he started towards the door. "I'm going after her. She looks familiar... I know I've seen her somewhere before. And I want to find her to see if she's ok." "Mulder, I don't think she's an X-File..." "Anything is possible, Scully, anything." "But not everything is probable, Mulder..." Scully murmured, and followed Mulder out. ----- The woman watched her own actions, confused. Her brain felt scrambled and her head hurt frightfully. Stopping, she tried to get her bearings. The babbling voices in her mind wondering what was going on...among other things. She closed her eyes an d tried to think clearly. <<<'All right... STOP IT, ALL of you!'>>> a sharp voice snapped. <<<'What the HELL am I doing in Washington, D.C.?!'>>> she thought to herself. Or would have. The thought was not in her own voice. A sign caught her eye and she paused. No wonder the person she'd almost run over had an FBI badge. The J. Edgar Hoover building was FBI headquarters. She sighed and shook her head, starting to walk. There were confusing images in her mind. She kept getting odd flashes of things she'd never seen before... or had she? She couldn't be sure either way. Where the hell was her backpack? And how did her clothes change without her knowing? Taking a gut feeling, she stopped, trying to find something which would give her an indication as to what was going on. Checking the date on the paper in the newsstand, she stopped suddenly. March 30, 1997. Easter Monday in Canada. Why that tidbit of information occurred to her, she had no idea. <<<'Considering you are trying to put Canada as far behind you-'>>> A snide voice half snickered. <<<'Shut up! We have to get this thing solved.'>>> A British accented female voice declared. The date itself seemed to mock her. Disorientaton swirled through her mind, accompanied by dizziness. "Are you okay, Valerie?" Mulder's voice was behind her. How she knew who he was confused her, but the entire situation at the moment was doing the same. She glanced around to see whom he might be talking to before she realised he was addressing _her_. Something which had never happened to her before. <<<'Gods, not this... not NOW...'>>> someone murmured. "Um... Agent Mulder, I hate to disappoint you, but, uh, Valerie's not my name..." she said, her heart racing, even as she was turning to face him. Her accent was now faintly Midwestern, though there was a hint of a British accent there as well. <<<'At least, not the one we all answer to.'>>> a voice spoke up. <<<'No kidding!'>>> another voice said. <<<'Then again, I suppose we should be grateful we answer to one name at all!'>>> <<<`Hey, guys... be quiet.'>>> a third answered before the headache could start again. As he studied her eyes, he noticed the continuous shifting again. She was looking at him a little nervously. "My name is Christina..." she dug through her purse and found her wallet and driver's license indicating she was from California. "See?" Mulder studied her carefully. Her features were definitely Asian, but at times looked oddly out of place. "I wanted to make sure you were ok." Mulder said, his tone suggesting he knew more than he was saying. "I..." she began. The image in her mind seemed to overlay Mulder's face again and somehow she knew who the person was. "Your sister..." she gasped suddenly, but stopped, blinking away a headache as well as the brightness of the sun. The words had emerged from her lips even before she knew what was actually going on. Mulder paled visibly. "What about my sister?" "I..." Mulder watched her struggling for thoughts and words. Once again, there was a mysterious shift in her expressions and she rubbed at her forehead. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Agent Mulder..." and he seemed to regain much of his colour, though the shocked expression remained. "I don't know what is going on with me right now. I'm sorry for troubling you..." Mulder flinched slightly. She'd seemed to be able to pick up on thought and action, even while not even looking directly at him. "What's going on here, Mulder? Is Valerie alright?" Scully suddenly appeared at Mulder's side. "Her name's not Valerie... but I think she could use our help anyway." he said, and Scully looked mystified. "Tell me, Christina, what day do you last remember it being?" "Ah..." she looked more than a touch embarassed. "May 22, 1996, though I just looked at the paper and it said it was March 30, 1997?!" "Have you lost this much time before?" Mulder asked. Scully glanced at her partner, wondering where this was leading. "What kind of question is that?" Christina's tone was instantly suspicious. Apparently, Christina was wondering the same thing. "Just a question... What's the last thing you remember?" "I... I last remember being in California, walking to my car after classes and the next thing I knew, I was walking into you. And I'm aware of the fact that I'm not in California anymore. This is Washington, DC." "Do you remember mentioning anything about my sister?" Christina shook her head and looked throughly mystified, even though it had only happened moments before. "Your sister? Mulder, what would she know about your sister? She doesn't look old enough to know..." Scully said. "Even if she had grown up in the same area you did." "About a minute ago, she looked in her late 20s. How old are you, physically?" Mulder asked. <<>> Valerie's voice, now strictly internal, declared. "23... but why did you use the word 'physically'?" she sounded alarmed, some part of her was starting to get suspicious. <<<'Two weird questions... he knows something...'>>> a voice said. <<<'You're damned right he knows something! Question is, what and HOW?'>>> Another voice asked. <<<'So he knows something... Fine. Question is, what do we do about it?'>>> Yet another asked. <<<'Go with him, see what he knows?'>>> The second answered, questioning. <<<'That goes without saying.'>>> the first voice replied. At that same time, Mulder moved to manoeuver her back towards the Hoover building and glanced at Scully. She seemed to understand what Mulder was doing. Christina, on the other hand, didn't. A shudder ran through Christina's body as an image ran through her mind. Her father, standing over her, belt in hand, rage in face. But, more than that, was the feeling that she was in trouble. Serious trouble. <<>> Someone inside shrieked. Panic spread within. With an effort, she willed the image and the emotion to the back of her mind and turned her attention back to the present and the FBI agents standing in front of her. "Exactly what are you doing?" she asked, realizing that he hadn't answered her question yet. The tone of her voice, however, was tense and touched with anger. "Let's go down to my office so we can talk. I don't know if it's a good idea to talk about this in public." Mulder said, though Christina could tell he was avoiding the question. She sighed, exasperated. "Agent Mulder, WHY did you use the word 'physically' when asking how old I was?" From the way she studied Mulder, he knew he had to answer her one way or another before she would go anywhere, at least with him. <<<'Well, one reason could be that he KNOWS...'>>> Valerie piped up. <<<'Valerie...'>>> a second voice cautioned. He could practically see her mannerisms changing right before his eyes. Glancing over at Scully, he saw that she could see it as well, though he wasn't sure she believed what she was seeing. Then again, he wasn't sure *he* believed it either. "That's part of what I want to talk to you about. Now, will you come with me to my office?" Mulder said. "Just a minute." Scully interrupted them. <<>> Valerie's voice asked. <<>> Christina's own voice reasoned. <<>> Valerie answered. "What's up, Scully?" Mulder asked as she pulled him over to one side. He still kept one eye on Christina, almost as though he were afraid she'd run away. "Mulder, are you sure this is such a good idea?" Scully asked. "What do you mean?" "She's talking like she knows what happened to your sister. She couldn't have if she's only 23. She's not even old enough to know about Samantha! And I doubt anyone would tell her, even if she had friends, or has lived in the same neighbourhood." "Scully, she needs our help. I don't know how yet, but if we can help her at all, I'd be more than glad to. You know? After all, how is it that she doesn't remember how she got from Los Angeles to Washington?" "There could be any number of explanations, Mulder. Not everything is paranormal." "But that's just it, Scully. She's going to need our help in finding out that answer." "Why us, though, Mulder? What makes this our responsibility?" "Ummm... well, there could be the fact that we're the first people she's run into, and she looks a little wary of asking anyone for help directly." Dana Scully looked at Christina a little more closely before she nodded. "You're right. Okay. Let's get her back to the office." They both turned back to Christina, who by this time was looking somewhat nervous. "Let's go to my office, okay, Christina?" Mulder asked. "Why do you need to see me in your office, Agent Mulder?" The defensive tone in Christina's voice surprised neither of them, and Christina herself didn't even seem to be aware of it. "That way I can help you find out how you got from Los Angeles to here with no memory of the event. If that's okay with you." "I guess so..." she answered, still bewildered by what was going on both in her own mind and with the two FBI agents who seemed quite interested in her, though for unknown, and separate, reasons. End Part 1.